What we do

in Palm Beach County with a voice to advocate for their physical, educational and emotional best interests﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿DONATE NOW!

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What we do

We are committed to providing

every vulnerable child

in Palm Beach County with a voice to advocate for their physical, educational and emotional best interests﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿﻿DONATE NOW!

Speak Up for Kids supports the Guardian Ad Litem Program to advocate for and protect the lives of children in the dependency (including foster care) system - facilitating their development, ensuring their right to a safe and permanent home, and building their future.

WHY?

Children with a GAL Child Advocate are...TWICE as likely to find a safe, permanent homeHALF as likely to re-enter foster careMORE LIKELY to receive available therapeutic servicesMORE ATTENTIVE and do better in school...than any child without a GAL Child Advocate Volunteer.

YOU CAN be the DIFFERENCE

THE IMPACT

Research shows that children with a Guardian Ad Litem advocate are more likely to….

Be adopted

Find a safe and permanent home

Do well in school and graduate

Have better conduct socially

Participate in after-school and extracurricular activities like "normal kids"

Get the services + resources they need for emotional + educational well-being

And children with a GAL are 1/2 as likely to re-enter foster care.

On any given day there are 1200 to 1400 local child victims of abuse, abandonment or neglect in need of a GAL advocate to speak up for them. Having sufficient staff to recruit, train and support the volunteers, as well as work with the dependency court system, is what is vital and necessary to provide a voice for vulnerable children.

How we do it

This is Max's Story...10 Different Placements7 Different Schools4 Social Workers3 TherapistsMax has had1 GALAdvocate

GAL Volunteers serve as the eyes and ears of dependency, with the sole purpose of advocating for each child's physical, educational and emotional well-being and best interest.

How we do it

This is Max's Story...10 Different Placements7 Different Schools4 Social Workers3 TherapistsMax has had1 GALAdvocate

GAL Volunteers serve as the eyes and ears of dependency, with the sole purpose of advocating for each child's physical, educational and emotional well-being and best interest.

IT's REALLY QUITE SIMPLE

GALVOLUNTEER CHILD ADVOCATE

+

CHILD VICTIM OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT

=

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

One volunteer can genuinely help and advocate for an abused, abandoned or neglected child as they wade through the child welfare system, knowing someone is looking out for their best interest.

The Guardian ad Litem is the foundation of HOW the Power of Advocacy reaches children in need throughout our county. We have yet to find any other children’s organization with the proven outcomes that turn resources into real hope for the future of each vulnerable children. You can see the multiplication of hope through the GAL program in what we call The Equation of Hope.

What GAL Does

The Role of a GAL Volunteer

INVESTIGATION of child's situation.FACILITATION of services.ADVOCACY for child's best interest.MONITORING parties involved.REPORTING all findings to the court to ensure most informed decision-making toward child's best interest.

What GAL Does

The Role of a GAL Volunteer

INVESTIGATION of child's situation.FACILITATION of services.ADVOCACY for child's best interest.MONITORING parties involved.REPORTING all findings to the court to ensure most informed decision-making toward child's best interest.

The Guardian ad Litem Program advocates to meet the complex needs of the children it serves through:

GAL Recruitment, Training and Support The program recruits, trains and supports court-appointed adult volunteers to serve as the representative voice for abused, abandoned or neglected children involved in dependency court proceedings.

Child's Best InterestWhile a GAL volunteer addresses the needs of our children in a holistic fashion, child’s best interest attorneys address the legal needs of our children. CBI attorneys are essential to the overall success of the GAL Program because they provide the necessary legal advice and representation to our volunteer and staff advocates. This allows us to provide a voice for our children and ensure their best interests are served and protected by the courts.

Children’s NormalcyWe team up with the Guardian ad Litem Program to ensure kids that have suffered abuse, abandonment or neglect have what they need to experience as close to a normal life as they can while in the dependency system. This includes providing: beds, clothing, school books, uniforms, and tutors and it also allows kids to participate in activities that every child should be able to enjoy such as: attending summer camp, getting band instruments, sporting equipment, tickets to school activities, dances, and prom.